Instant Love: Fiction by Attenberg Jami

Author:Attenberg, Jami [Attenberg, Jami]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2006-06-13T04:00:00+00:00

SHE TOOK THE lunch shifts that summer, waiting on the wives and children of the members who were too lazy to cook their own grilled cheese sandwiches at home. The wives, some older, some younger, were sharp-tongued and particular, and most days operated with a fierce sense of entitlement. Maggie was someone to do their bidding (Never fast enough, never perfectly, they would sigh, as she brought them their food), and consistently neglected to thank her. Their children were better mannered and more respectful—they at least occasionally thanked her for her service—but Maggie still found them wasteful; they ordered food just to take one bite, they heaped out gobs of ketchup they would never use, and they often ordered sugary drink after sugary drink, until Maggie was certain their teeth would turn brown before her eyes. She was silent throughout all of this. She already knew how to keep her mouth shut, keep her thoughts inside. Now she was learning how to focus those thoughts into a particular kind of rage.

She also learned how to fold napkins in the shape of swans and fans. And she learned how to carry large trays loaded with hot plates flat on her palm. She would glide elegantly through the spacious main dining room, stare out through the wall of windows at the view of the golf course she wasn’t welcome to visit, and never drop a thing. She never spilled when refilling water glasses and coffee mugs, as much as she would have liked to sometimes, right on their spoiled laps. Instead she totaled bills quickly and got people out the door so that they could enjoy their day on the links or at the pool.

Have a good game, she would say. Don’t forget to use sunblock.

She was also instructed to memorize everyone’s names so that she could greet them properly. Hello, Mrs. Pollack. Good afternoon, Mrs. Greenhill. Iced tea, Mrs. Hornstein? She was horrible at this, but they never remembered her name, either, and she was the one wearing a name tag.

Her boss, Eugene, noticed her poor memory, and called her into a meeting one day after her lunch shift. Eugene terrified her. He always put his arm around her and acted like they were buddies, but deep down she knew he hated everything about the country club, including the people who worked for him. At any moment he could turn on you.

He had a shaggy porn-star mustache and wore three-piece suits in crazy colors like maroon and honey. He thought he was psychic. He always asked everyone what their sign was and when they told him, he would say something like, “You are such a Scorp!” He claimed his boyfriend was psychic, too, so look out, world. Maggie wondered if they even needed to utter any words out loud at all when they were together, or if they just sat there, reading each other’s minds.

In his office, he was gentle with her.

“Not everyone has that skill set. You have other talents,” he said.

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